A Stranger Comes To Jasper
by Sweets Omega
Summary: In this story, a new wolf comes into the United Packs' territory.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This story's from back in my Fanpop days, and it's about an original character belonging to a friend of mine from there. When I asked him recently about posting it here, he was very happy to give his permission. It's a 5-part story - my first multi-parter.

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Hank's POV: I'd left my pack to the north two days ago, and headed south. I was looking for another pack to join, since I wanted a chance to be more than the lowest Beta in the pack. Just this morning, I'd started to find scent-marks from other wolves - I'd found another pack's territory. Now I just needed to find someone from that pack to talk to about joining it. But I also needed to be sure that I wouldn't be attacked on sight. I needed to be cautious. An unwelcome lone wolf is a dead wolf.

I heard two wolves coming up the path, so I hid in the bushes beside the path so I could see them and judge as to whether or not to risk trying to talk with them. Then the wind shifted, and I scented something else. There was a Mountain Lion in some bushes on the other side, up the path about 100 feet away. I knew it was waiting in ambush for the wolves who were coming up the path. Though I didn't want to risk being attacked myself, I had to warn them. Just before they got to the bush I was hiding in, I poked my head out and whispered "Psst... Guys, there's a Mountain Lion in the bush on the other side, up there." I pointed to the bushes up the path.

They both stopped dead in their tracks and looked over to where I was. One of them was short and squat, and radiated a sense of "don't mess with me". The other one looked kind of like me, except his fur was dark gray, with some lighter gray, while mine's blue. The shorter one growled, bristled, got up in my face, and said "And what're you doin', hidin' in our territory like that? You don't belong here! You'd better leave before I MAKE ya leave!"

The taller one whispered to him "Cando, we've got a bigger problem, here. I just caught scent of it, myself. Don't tell me you can't smell it, too. I can sense it, getting ready to jump out of the bush up there."

Cando turned, sniffed, and looked uneasy. "Yeah, Hutch," he whispered back, "I c'n smell it. Plan Delta Three, right?"

Hutch nodded once, and they both backed off slowly, and I joined them in retreating a ways down the path. Once we were all what we thought was a safe distance away, the two turned to me. Hutch spoke first "Thanks for the warning. If you hadn't stopped us we would have walked right into that Mountain Lion before the breeze shifted." Cando glared at me, but kept his silence. He knew I'd likely just saved their lives.

I nodded to Hutch. "So, now what's the plan?"

He looked at me like he was deciding something. Then he said "Plan Delta Three is to fall back and get ready to attack the enemy. Or at least try to scare them off. Are you with us?"

"Well, I don't like messing with a Mountain Lion, but you'll have a better chance with my help than without it." I nodded. "Since I want to try to join your pack, I'll help you."

"Formal introductions will have to wait until this problem's taken care of, but I'm Hutch." He indicated the other wolf with a paw, "This is Cando. We're on scout duty for the Western part of the United Packs."

"I'm Hank. All right, since this is your party, what do you want me to do?"

Hutch said "Just follow our lead, Hank."

"And stay outta our way! Got it?!" Cando growled, glaring up at me.

I could sense that Cando's attitude was his way of showing that his size didn't affect his ability to take care of anything needing taking care of. I knew it wouldn't take much to set off his temper, so I kept my silence, since the last thing I needed right now was a fight.

They both started walking up the path as if they didn't know anything was wrong. I followed.

We got within 75 feet . . . 50 feet . . . 25 feet . . .

Then it leapt out of the bushes, directly in our path! It screamed the bloodcurdling cry Mountain Lions have. The one that usually sends someone running in the opposite direction. That's just what they want you to do, so they can chase you and attack you from behind. It's a lot easier to kill you that way.

I noticed something about this one, though. It was smaller than average. It was just old enough to be out looking for a territory of it's own. I glanced over at the others, and saw in their faces that they'd figured out the same thing. This still might not be easy, but it wasn't going to be as tough as we'd feared, either. Maybe we could even bluff it into leaving . . .

Hutch and Cando both laid their ears back, raised their hackles, and growled ferociously. I did the same, stepping up beside them across the path.

I saw the fear come into the young Mountain Lion's eyes as it realized it was facing three angry wolves. The odds weren't in it's favor. It turned and ran, and we ran after it, barking and snarling, but careful not to get close enough for it to feel it had to turn and fight for its life. It didn't even glance over its shoulder. It just _RAN!_

Once we were sure it'd keep going, we all stopped, panting for breath after our run. After a few moments to catch our breath, Hutch laughed. "Well, _that_ was easier than we could have hoped for!" He looked over at me and grinned. "Thanks for the assist, Hank." He offered his paw for a paw-bump. I gladly gave him one. I looked at Cando, but all I got was a glare. He still wasn't happy about my being here. I guessed that he was the type that, until someone was officially welcomed, didn't like having strangers around. I felt a bit annoyed, since I'd just helped him and Hutch chase the Mountain Lion off, but I knew there was no changing his mind, either.

Hutch smiled over at me and said "Well, Hank, let's get you to our den area, so you can talk with our leader. Or her father, really, since she's out on a hunt this morning with some of the other Alphas.

"This way," he added, trotting back down the path. I followed him and Cando.


	2. Chapter 2

Sweets' POV: It was a beautiful morning in Jasper. The sun was just starting to rise through the trees.

Most of the Alphas were already out on their various duties, and even some of the other Omegas were out and around, planning their fun for the day. I was walking around the den area, greeting everyone and making sure all my friends there were doing all right on this wonderful morning. I saw my best friend, Candy, and went to talk with her.

Suddenly, Cando and Hutch came back from their morning patrol. That was strange, since they weren't due back until later in the day. There were startled gasps and whispers from all over the den area as the reason for their early return became clear: they had a stranger with them. Candy and I looked him over. He looked a lot like Hutch, except that the stranger's fur was an unusual color: blue. Cando and Hutch started to lead him up the path to the main den, where Winston and Eve were. Kate was already out on a hunt with Garth, Scar, and some other Alphas. Humphrey was out with his Omega buddies, and Lilly was probably off somewhere on her own, since she likes her "alone time" when Garth's out hunting.

I grinned and gently elbowed Candy. "C'mon, Candy, let's check the new guy out."

She sighed and shook her head. "He _does_ look sorta cute, but I've already _got_ a boyfriend. Remember?"

"Well, _I'm_ gonna get a closer look," I said, getting as close as I dared, since I was curious about this stranger, but didn't want to get in the way of official business. I'm an Omega. I know my place.

As they went past, I saw Cando had his hackles up, and his lips were pulled back in a snarl. He glared up at the stranger and growled: "You try anything, and I'll be all over ya like ya were a chunk o' caribou meat!"

The stranger wisely kept his silence as well as a neutral look on his face, although I could sense that he was getting irritated.

Hutch tried to calm Cando down, which is no easy task when he's in a mood like that. "Take it easy, Cando. Let Winston decide what to do with Hank. You know we could always use another wolf in our pack, especially one with courage. He _did_ help us chase off that Mountain Lion back there."

Cando calmed down, but just a little. He glanced over at Hutch. "Yeah, yeah . . . he's a regular hero. I just don't like the idea of someone comin' inta our territory who doesn't belong here. Ya know how that riles me up."

Hutch shook his head and shrugged "I don't usually like it much, either, Cando, but he's here." He looked over to Hank and nodded. "Besides, he's already proven himself, at least as far as I'm concerned." Hank nodded to Hutch in return. Hutch continued "Like I said, let's let Winston decide, since Kate's out hunting with the others. You and I both know she'll respect her father's decision, even if she _is_ in charge of the pack now."

I stood there thinking for a few moments as I watched them lead Hank up the path to the main den. "So the stranger's name is Hank. His fur color sure is different, but kinda cool. I can sense he means no harm to our pack. I wonder what brought him into our territory? I just hope I get the chance to ask him sometime."

Soon, they'd led Hank into the den. I heard Eve's shout all the way from where I was standing, which was at the bottom of the den hill, a good 200 feet away. "_Whaaaat?!_" she was barking and snarling, "I should rip off your tails and shove them down your throats for bringing him here! You _know_ we don't like trespassers!"

In spite of my respect and fear of Eve, I found myself carefully walking up the pathway so I could hear the rest of what was going on. I really didn't mean to eavesdrop, but my curiosity about the stranger got the best of me, so there I was. I stopped about half-way up the path to the den and stood there, quietly listening.

"Now, Eve . . . " I heard Winston's voice saying gently, trying to calm Eve, "You know the boys were only carrying out Kate's and my standing orders that all strangers should be brought to see one of us. I don't think he's here to do us any harm." His voice was normal when he asked "Are you?"

I heard Hank's voice for the first time. It sounded strong, yet gentle. "No, sir. I only came here to ask if I could join your pack. I left my pack to the north of here to try to find another. And do you think I would have helped Cando and Hutch with a Mountain Lion if I meant to hurt anyone here?"

Winston sounded surprised and worried. "A _Mountain Lion?_ A Mountain Lion was here in our territory?"

Even Eve sounded a little frightened at the idea of a Mountain Lion being around. "Where was this?" she said as quietly as I'd ever heard her speak before.

Hutch spoke up. "Cando and I were patrolling the area just north of here, when Hank, here, warned us about a Mountain Lion in the bushes up the trail a ways. We executed Plan Delta Three and ended up chasing it off. It evidently had just come here, since we'd never even caught scent of it before. I think it'll keep moving on, now that it knows there's a strong pack here."

"Hmmm . . ." Winston said, the relief plain in his voice, "Well, _that's_ good news. Good job. Hank, I think you and I need to talk, but first, I think you should take a tour of the territory. Get a feel for the place and the pack. Then we can decide together whether you want to join our pack or not. Maybe Kate and the rest will be back by then so you can meet them, too. I can't spare any Alphas to show you around, but I think I know just the wolf for the job."

I heard him heading toward the entrance of the den and ran back down the path. I most certainly didn't want to get caught listening in. I made it back down to the bottom just in time.

Winston stood on the ledge, looking around. He saw me and smiled. "Sweets!" he called out. He motioned with a paw for me to come up. "Come on up here, please. I'd like you to take our new friend on a tour of the territory."

I laid my ears back, smiled and wagged my tail. "Yes, sir!" I called out as I headed up the path, "It'll be my honor."

As I reached the den, Winston went in ahead and motioned with a paw to Hank. "Sweets, this is Hank. He just came into our territory this morning."

I laid my ears back, wagged my tail, and smiled one of my most charming smiles at him. "Hello, Hank. I'm pleased to meet you." I held out a paw.

He reached out with his own and took my paw in his. "It's my pleasure, Sweets." Then he brought my paw up and gently touched it to his mouth as he smiled and wagged his tail slowly. "I'm always glad to meet a lady."

I looked down in embarrassment, giggled, then looked back up at him, my own tail wagging. "Aww . . . you're such a gentlewolf."

He let go of my paw, and I grinned at him. "Well, shall we start your tour, Hank?"

"Yeah, Sweets," he grinned in return, motioning in front of him with a paw towards the entrance of the den, "Please, after you . . ."

I nodded and went ahead. He followed, but I noticed that he didn't try to follow too closely for my comfort. "So," I called over my shoulder, "where would you like to start, Hank?"

"Hmmm . . . Well, where's the most interesting place you know around here? I think that'd be a good start."

"Interesting, huh?" I nodded. "I know _just_ the place." I trotted on down the path with Hank following at a still-respectful distance.


	3. Chapter 3

(Author's note: In this chapter, we're introduced to another of my friend's original characters: Ashley. I'll let the story tell the rest.)

This story is again from Sweets' POV:

As we left the path and went into the open area around the den hill, Hank came up beside me, but still not too closely. I looked over at him. "You know, Hank - I'm an Omega. You don't have to show me so much respect."

He looked at me, smiled, and shook his head. "You may be an Omega, Sweets, but you're _still_ a lady."

I shrugged and chuckled. "Well, if you wanna respect me, who am I to argue? Now, let's get your tour started, shall we?"

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, let's."

I smiled as we continued trotting on toward the hills above the valley. "You want interesting? I know where Humphrey and his buddies do their logsledding. I never want to go with them, since that's not really something a lady should do unless it's an emergency, but I have fun watching them, even if I _do_ think they're all crazy."

Hank looked at me and tilted his head to the side with a puzzled look on his face. "Logsledding? What's that? I've never heard of it."

I smiled and laughed. "That's right, I forgot you're not from around here. Logsledding is a game Humphrey came up with about a year and a half ago. He and his buddies find a half of a hollowed-out log, drag it up a hill, and get in it and ride it down. It always ends in a crash, but no one gets hurt, even with Mooch sometimes wolf-piling on everyone else after they land. Mooch is a pretty big guy. You'll see what I mean, once you meet the Omega boys."

"Huh," Hank said, a smile spreading across his face, "Sounds like it might be fun."

"Well, you'll have to ask them, but I'm sure they'd be glad to have you join them on a run. Here's their favorite hill, now." I paused and looked uphill. "Yep. There they are, up about half-way." I pointed with a paw. "Since they're pulling the log, I'm sure we can catch up with them before they get to the top. Let's go." I started up the hill, and Hank followed.

Soon, we were close enough to hear them grunting as they pulled the log up the hill. "C'mon, guys, we're almost there . . . " we heard Humphrey saying.

"Good morning, boys!" I called out, "How are ya all today?"

They all stopped and looked over their shoulders at us. "Oh, heya, Sweets!" Humphrey smiled and called back. The others waved and smiled. "Who's your blue friend?" Humphrey asked, his head tilted to the side, a slight frown on his face. Salty, Shakey and Mooch echoed his look.

"This," I motioned to Hank with a paw, "is Hank. He's new here. Winston asked me to take him on a tour of our territory so he can see if he'd like to join our pack. I know you boys are busy right now, so we'll meet ya all at the top, all right?"

Humphrey smiled and nodded. "Hi, Hank! We'll all get official intros once we're up there. Go on up ahead, you two. We'll be up there as soon as we can." To his crew, he said "Okay, boys, let's go!" They all started pulling again.

Hank and I reached the top, then sat down to wait for the boys to join us. Just then, we heard my friend Ashley call out "Hey, Sweets! I'll be right there! I'm gonna watch my brother and his crew doing their logsledding thing this morning!" We looked toward her voice, and she was trotting from the tree-line toward where we were.

Once she reached us, I smiled at her. "Hey, Ashley! Good morning." I motioned to Hank with a paw. "This is Hank. I'm taking him on a tour, so he can decide if he wants to join our pack or not." I turned to Hank. "Hank, this is Ashley. She's Humphrey's sister."

She held out her paw, which he took in his and brought to his mouth. "I'm pleased to meet such a lovely lady, Ashley." I noticed that he held her paw to his mouth a bit longer than he had mine when we had met.

She laid back her ears and grinned, her tail wagging happily. She was looking directly at him, which could only mean one thing: she _definitely_ liked him. "You're not so bad-looking, yourself, Hank. I think I know who I'm going to be asking to the next Moonlight Howl. _If_ you decide to join our pack, that is . . ."

As he let her paw go, he grinned at her and wagged his tail. "I think you just helped me make up my mind, Ashley."

A few moments later, with much grunting and panting, Humphrey and the rest of the Omega boys pulled the log up beside us.

_"WHEW!"_ Humphrey wiped a paw across his forehead. "Gotta catch our breath. Give us a minute, okay?"

I grinned and chuckled. "Sure, Humphrey. Take your time, guys." I looked over at Hank and Ashley who were grinning, too, but at each other.

It was actually more like 3 minutes when Humphrey finally said "Okay. Now let's all get introduced, here. I'm Humphrey." He looked to where Hank and Ashley were sitting side-by-side. He grinned. "I see you've met my sister Ashley." He motioned over to each of his three buddies as he said their names: "There's Salty, Shakey, and last, but not least, Mooch."

Salty grinned his usual dopey-looking grin. "How's it goin', Hank?"

Shakey smiled and nodded "What's up, Hank?"

Mooch smiled shyly and said "Hey, Hank."

Hank grinned at them. "Pleased to meet you, guys." Then to Humphrey "Yeah, Humphrey . . . I hope you don't mind, but I think your sister and I have already taken a bit of a shine to each other."

Humphrey grinned at Hank and Ashley. "Hey, Hank, that's great! She's been pretty lonely, you know? As a matter of fact, I wanna talk to you for a minute or two, if you don't mind."

"Sure, Humphrey." Hank nodded, got up and went over to Humphrey. "Where do you want to go to talk?"

"Let's go over to the tree-line. This should be private." He looked at Ashley meaningfully. She rolled her eyes, looked away and sighed, then made the "go on" motion with a front paw.

"So, Hank - where you from?" I heard Humphrey ask as they walked away. Soon, they were too far away for any of us to hear them talking. They walked into the trees, so that we couldn't even see them.

While we waited, Ashley and the Omega boys and I chatted about this and that - the usual things friends talk about.

A few minutes later, Humphrey brought Hank back. Hank looked at Ashley with an even wider grin on his face. After a few moments, he looked at Humphrey, still with a wide grin on his face. "Sweets was telling me about this 'logsledding' thing you do. Sounds like fun to me. Could I join you?"

All four Omega boys looked at each other, grinning from ear to ear. Humphrey's grin was the widest. "Sure, Hank," he said, wagging his tail happily, "It just so happens that this log is a little longer than the usual ones we use, so there's just enough room for you on this run. Are you ready?"

Hank looked at the log, then at the guys, starting to show a little hesitation, as if he were starting to question his own sanity. "Ready as I'll ever be, I guess. Sure. Where do you want me to sit?"

"Well, I sit in front," Humphrey stated, "so I can call out directions as I see what we need to do next. Salty's behind me, so he can give us sail-draft if we need it, Shakey's behind him, and Mooch is at the back, so he can 'lower the boom' and get us airborne. So I guess you can sit between Shakey and Mooch. If you don't mind."

"No problem." Hank carefully kept a straight face. "I don't mind being that close, as long as it's just a 'male-bonding' thing, and nothing else." But his eyes were laughing.

Humphrey and the others looked at Hank for a moment not knowing if he was joking or not, then burst out laughing when they realized that he was. Humphrey went up to him and said "Good one, Hank!", then held up a paw for a "paw-bump", which Hank gave him, grinning.

"Well, guys," Humphrey said to them all, "Are you ready?"

All four of the others nodded.

"Let's go, then!"

All five wolves got into the log, each with their right hind leg still on the ground to push the log to the edge of the hill.

And with one push from their strong legs, over the log went!

"Whoooooo-hoooooo!" I heard Hank shout as the log went careening down the hill.

Ashley and I stood at the top of the hill, watching as the boys went flying down the hill. _"WOAH!"_ she shouted, "I've _never_ seen 'em go _that_ fast before!"

I looked at her. "Maybe we'd better get down there, just in case they need some help after the run." I started down the hill, being extra-careful to make sure I kept my footing. The _last_ thing I'd need is to slip and fall down that steep hill. It'd be very unladylike, to say the least . . .

Ashley followed, using the same care.

We heard the boys finish their run with the usual crash, but didn't hear Mooch's usual shout of "Wolf-pile!"

We reached the bottom, just in time to see every one getting off of Mooch. "Well, whataya know?" Shakey was saying, "For once, I had to get my butt outta _his_ face!"

Everyone, even Mooch, was laughing. The log lay splintered at the base of a rock into too many pieces to even _begin_ counting.

Humphrey was grinning from ear-to-ear. "That was a _great_ run, boys! I think we set a new speed record. Having an extra wolf on board probably helped with that." He grinned at Hank, who was grinning back equally widely. Humphrey held out his paw. "Five-way paw-bump, guys!" All five wolves put their paws together with a "thud!"

Ashley and I looked at each other and started laughing. The boys had made another successful logsledding run.

Then Ashley ran over to Hank and threw her front legs around his neck in a hug. "I'm _[i]so[/i]_ glad you're okay, Hank!" Her tail wagged happily.

He seemed a little embarrassed. "Uhhh . . . Yeah, Ashley. Me, too." He looked over at the other guys and grinned, his own tail wagging. "That was _awesome_, guys! Thanks!"

They all grinned back at him, their tails wagging, too. Humphrey nodded. "It was our pleasure, Hank. And hey, we hope you _do_ join our pack - we want you to be our logsledding buddy! At least, whenever you want to . . ."

Hank's grin faded a bit. "Well, Humphrey . . . I'll be a Beta if I join, so I don't know if I'll have much time for logsledding . . . But if I do, I'll be _more_ than glad to take a run with you guys once in a while!"

Humphrey nodded again. "Fair enough, Hank. Just wanted to be sure you know you're welcome anytime."

"Thanks, Humphrey. I appreciate that."

"Well," I said, "I hate to break this up, but I need to take Hank on the rest of his tour. He should get the chance to get to meet whoever else of our pack we can find out and around."

Ashley let Hank go, though I could tell she didn't really want to. She looked down at her front paws, then up at him from the tops of her eyes. "Well, I'll see ya, then, Hank. Right?"

Hank nodded and smiled at her warmly. He took her paw in his and held it to his mouth again, for even longer than he had when they'd first met. "Of _course_, Ashley. I already feel like we have a connection."

Ashley simply _glowed!_ I'd never seen her look that happy before. "We _do_. I can feel that, too."

He put her paw down and turned to the guys, grinning at them. "Well, guys, it was great meeting you, and a _lot_ of fun getting to go on a logsledding run with you. I hope we can do it again sometime soon." Then he turned to me. "Sweets - I want to meet more of my future pack-mates, if they'll have me. Shall we?" He motioned in front of himself with a front paw.

"We shall," I replied, starting to trot off, with Hank following his usual respectful distance behind.

"See ya all later!" I called over my shoulder.

I got various versions of "See you later!" from everyone as Hank and I trotted off to our next destination.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Yes, I know I have "Claw" misnamed as "Scar" in this story. If you want to see the reason, please read my story "The Little Western Wanderer", if you haven't already. Thank you.

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Once again, this story is from Sweets' POV:

As Hank came up beside me, he grinned and asked "So, Sweets, where're we headed to, now?"

I grinned back at him. "Well, Hank, I think you should see where we do most of our caribou hunting, since you'll be there a lot if you join our pack. Besides, that's where our lead Alpha is right now, along with her hunting party. Her name's Kate. She's actually very nice. I'm sure you and her will get along fine and dandy."

"Hey - if I can keep from fighting with Cando when he's all up in my face, I think I can get along with the lead Alpha. Right?" He laughed, his brown eyes sparkling in the morning sun.

"Good point, Hank." I caught myself laughing, too, but then I was serious. "Although . . . you also knew that you wouldn't have much of a chance of joining our pack if you'd gotten into a fight with him. So there _was_ that motivation, too. But even if you _did_ join our pack, you wouldn't stay long if you couldn't get along with Kate, either. You know as lead Alpha, it would be her duty to have you kicked out if that happened.

"But all of that's neither here nor there. We're going to watch them from above the valley while they hunt. You and I both know that means absolute silence, no matter what we see going on. I'm only taking you there because you need to see that area as part of your tour. Otherwise, I'd be staying well away from there. If we so much as _sneeze_ at the wrong time . . ."

Hank looked grave. "Yeah. I know . . . stampede. That's the thing we hunters fear the most. It's the thing we can do the least about, aside from try to scatter to the sides and hope for the best. And sometimes, even that's not enough. I've seen a few wolves that didn't make it out. Not pretty." He shuddered, obviously remembering things he wished he could forget.

We reached the edge of the valley and carefully lay down so we wouldn't scare any prey that happened to be below. As we looked up and down the valley for any sign of the hunting-party or their intended prey, I saw we were in luck. There were a couple caribou grazing calmly almost right below us, and the hunters were a little way up the valley, working their way down toward the caribou. I went to silently point them out to Hank, but saw that he'd spotted them before I did. As I felt him tense up beside me, I knew he was barely keeping himself from joining in the hunt.

Kate was in the lead, with Garth, Scar, and Claw following close behind. They were all keeping as low in the grass as they could with the wind in their faces, trying to get as close to the unsuspecting caribou as possible before rushing to the attack. Kate signaled with her tail, and the others crept around, positioning themselves around their still-oblivious prey. At another signal, they all leaped at the caribou to their right, completely catching it off guard. It went down in a flurry of slashing fangs and flailing legs.

Meanwhile, the second caribou bolted back in the direction the hunting-party had come from, straight into a second group of wolves we hadn't even seen further up the valley. This one was led by Winston himself, with Cando, Hutch, and a tall brown wolf whom I hadn't met yet from the former Eastern Pack completing the group. They held their positions, crouched down in the grass, until the prey was VERY close. Then they sprang into action, surrounding the caribou and knocking it off its feet with the sheer weight of their bodies.

Both struggles were over quickly. Two caribou, two kills. The United Pack would eat well today.

As soon as the kills were made, Hank and I stood up and barked and howled our approval to the hunters. They all looked up at us, surprised at first, since they'd been focused on their prey and hadn't known we were there.

Then my friend Scar grinned, and waved in greeting, wagging her tail. "Hey, Sweets, my Best Omega Friend!" she called out. Then, a split-second later, her tail stopped wagging and her smile faded as she frowned, motioning toward Hank. "Wait a second . . . Who's that with you, Sweets?" Kate, Garth, and Claw looked up at us questioningly, as well.

From a little further up the valley, Winston called out "It's all right, everyone - he's a friend! Sweets is taking him on a tour of our territory so he can see if he wants to join our pack!"

Everyone looked back at Winston, who was trotting to where Kate, Scar, and the rest were. The others in his party followed. "Okay, Dad," Kate called to him, a frown on her face, "but . . . why weren't we told about this?"

As he reached them, he said "You and the others were already out here, Kate. No time to tell you before now, since we wanted to make a double kill today." He looked up at us. "Okay, Sweets, you can bring him down here to meet those of us he hasn't met yet."

"Yes, sir," I called down, "We'll be right there." I looked over at Hank. "Well, Hank, this is your chance to make a good impression with the lead Alphas. The pathway down is right over here . . ." I led him to it, and we went down into the valley.

As we trotted up to the others, I started the introductions "Everyone, this is Hank." I then introduced him to the others that I knew, indicating them each in turn. I looked at the one wolf I didn't know, smiled, laid my ears back, wagged my tail, and introduced myself. "Hi. I'm Sweets."

He laid his ears back, wagged his tail and grinned. "So YOU'RE Sweets, eh? Winston's told me all about you. I'm John. It's a pleasure to meet you." He held out his paw, which I shook.

I grinned back at him. "The pleasure's mine, John. I'm glad former enemies can be friends. Being an Omega, I'm not much of a fighter, and I don't like to see fighting, either. Nice and peaceful. That's how I like it. Hee-hee!"

He nodded, continuing his grin. "Couldn't agree with you more, Sweets. Even we Betas like the peace. You can get more done with co-operation than fighting, anyway."

I nodded, too. "Exactly, John." I pointed to Hank. "John, this is Hank. Hank, John."

They shook paws, nodding to each other. "Always glad to meet a fellow Beta, John." Hank said.

"Likewise, Hank. I hope we get the chance to hunt together sometime."

Then Hank turned to Winston, saying "I must say, sir, I'm _very_ impressed with the way you've integrated the two packs. Sweets explained to me about how you'd nearly been at war. And now, your two hunt groups worked like they'd been together all their lives. I mean, I couldn't tell who'd been in a different pack."

"Thank you, Hank." Winston nodded in appreciation. "But I can't take all the credit. Garth and Scar's father, Tony, who led the Eastern Pack until we united the packs, had an equal part in that. You'll get to meet him a little later on, when we all make the decision whether or not you'll be staying with us."

"Sounds good to me, sir," Hank smiled and nodded, "So . . . when am I gonna get to meet the others? I'd love to know if I'm in or out. I've got my eye on a certain lady . . ."

"Sweets?" Winston looked at me, smiling as he tilted his head to the side. "Does he mean you?"

I giggled. "Oh, my! No, sir. He and Ashley hit it off pretty well when I introduced them a little earlier today. THAT'S who he means."

Winston nodded. "Oh, I see . . . Well, then - the others and I need to go get cleaned up from the hunt. Could you and Hank watch the kills for us while we're gone? We don't want any scavengers helping themselves, now do we? Normally, I'd have a couple of the hunting party stay behind, but since you two are here . . ."

Hank stepped up and nodded once. "It would be an honor, sir. I appreciate the trust you're showing me. The caribou will be as you left them when you all return, sir. You have my word."

"Good, good. We'll go to the pool and clean up. We'll be back in a little while." To the others he said "Let's go, everyone. We need to get cleaned up for our meeting." He turned and trotted off, with the others following.

After they left, Hank and I sat between the two kills, so that we could reach either one equally fast if anything tried to approach. We sat down to wait.


	5. Chapter 5

This last part of the story takes place, once again, from Sweets' POV:

A little while later, true to Winston's word, the hunting party returned. We'd had no scavengers dare to approach while we were on guard, and so we'd had time to just talk.

"Now . . ." Winston said, "It's time to gather the others who'll help in making the decision." He threw his head back and howled. Howls came from all around in the distance, including one I recognized as Tony's. "Now, we wait."

Soon, other wolves started coming in from all directions and started sitting around us. There were Alphas, Betas, and Omegas. The last one there was Tony himself.

"Winston." Tony smiled and nodded to the former Western Pack leader. He looked over at Hank. "I take it this is the new recruit." To Hank he said "Let me guess, son . . . you're a Beta."

Hank looked mildly surprised, but nodded respectfully. "Yes, sir. That I am. Or at least, I hope to be one here."

Tony nodded again. "Good attitude. I'm Tony. Former leader of the Eastern Pack." He held out his paw to Hank. Hank approached with the proper respect and gave Tony a firm paw-shake.

"My name is Hank, sir. Sweets has told me quite a bit about you."

"Oh, she has, has she? I hope it was good." He smiled and laughed, looking over at me.

I smiled back at him. "Hee-hee! Well, what do you think, sir?"

"I think you'd never say anything bad about anyone, Sweets. That's what I think."

I lowered my gaze and looked at my paws, slightly embarrassed. "Awww . . . I try, sir. Besides, you know how I can almost always see the best in everyone."

"That you do, Sweets. And don't you think for a moment that it goes unnoticed. Or unappreciated. We could use a dozen more like you, but . . . you're unique.

"But anyway, shall we get this meeting underway?" Tony looked over to where Kate and Garth, our co-leaders, were standing.

Kate nodded. "Yes, sir."

Garth stepped up beside her and nodded, as well. "Sure, Dad."

"All right," Kate called out in her clear voice, "we all know why we're here. We have a wolf who wants to join our pack. I'll let him tell the story of what happened this morning when he came into our territory. Let me just tell you all that it's absolutely _true._ Cando and Hutch told me themselves when we all went to clean up a while ago after the kills.

"Hank? If you would, please?" She looked at Hank, smiled, and nodded.

He nodded to her respectfully. "Yes, ma'am. It would be my pleasure." Then, in his strong, gentle voice, he told the story of his helping Cando and Hutch chase off the young Mountain-Lion.

Most of the others whispered to each other after the story was told, as would be expected.

Garth stepped forward, looking suitably impressed. He looked around at us all. "So, everyone - do we have a new pack-member? Or not?"

Everyone looked around at each other, then some of them started barking and howling, showing their acceptance of Hank. Soon, everyone, even Cando, joined the cacophony. It was unanimous.

Then Cando amazed us all by walking up to Hank, smiling up at him, and reaching out his paw, which Hank gladly shook. "No hard feelin's, right, Hank?"

Hank smiled back at him. "None at all, Cando. I look forward to being part of the Beta team here."

Hank was an official member of our pack!


End file.
